The Most Popular Lyrics From Some Of Metal's Most Influential Artists

By Metrolyrics
November 03, 2011

In honor of VH1 Classics National Metal Day, we thought we'd take a moment to pay tribute to the pioneers in heavy metal m/usic (see what we did there?). So, who made the biggest metal albums of all time? Along with the lyrics to the album's most successful song, we pay nods to these monster heavy metal records:

Has there been a song by a Metal band that's been covered more in the last 15 years than Metallica's 'Nothing Else Matters'? Originally included on the band's 1991 album Metallica (commonly referred to as The Black Album), the song shows the lesser-known softer side of the Metal genre, making use of guitar plucking and a downtempo pace in place of the traditional high energy, heavy distortion the genre is known for. Lead singer/songwriter James Hetfield's gravelly delivery of the song's famous lyrics make this a major touchpoint in any Metal-head's collection.

Megadeth - Washington Is Next"How can there be any logic in biological war? / We all know this is wrong / But the New World Order's beating down the door / Oh, something needs to be done"

Singer/songwriter/guitarist Dave Mustaine and his Megadeth bandmates have never been shy to tackle heavy themes like war, political corruption and religion in their lyrics, and "Washington Is Next..." is certainly no exception. The song, included on the band's 2007 album United Abominations, is a musical statement of the band's views on politics and society. It's this type of unabashed sincerity that has always resonated with Megadeth's fans, making "Washington Is Next..." worthy of its popularity.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Megadeth's landmark album "Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?" Recently, Dave sat down with Street Date for an exclusive interview about the album and why its lyrics are so timeless.

Politics is a very common theme in metal music and Slayer is one of the most provocative bands of this genre. "Jihad" is a song written from the point of view of the primary hijacker in the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. Jeff Hanneman, the guitarist and songwriter of "Jihad" says he considers the song to have the "coolest angle" of all the songs from the album Christ Illusion. The song was incredibly controversial and was banned in many countries when it was released.